AJ Bell launches Lifetime Isa

AJ Bell has entered the Lifetime Isa market, giving long-term investors the opportunity to receive a 25 per cent bonus from the government on their savings.

AJ Bell’s Investcentre Lisa offers advisers and their clients access to the platform's full range of investments, which includes over 4,000 clean share classes, as well as the AJ Bell passive fund range and the platform’s Managed Portfolio Service (MPS), which offers both passive and actively managed products.

Advisers can make regular investments on behalf of their clients on a monthly basis without incurring any dealing charges.

There is no initial charge to open an AJ Bell Lifetime Isa, with the annual charges calculated on a tiered basis.

On assets up to £1m, the charge is 0.2 per cent. On portfolios of 0.15 per cent between £1m and £1.5m the charge is 0.10 per cent, and zero per cent on portfolios above £2m.

Andy Bell, chief executive of AJ Bell said: “Advisers have indicated to us that there is demand for Lifetime Isas from some of their clients and so we are adding it to the platform for them.

"Our aim is to make investing easy for advisers and their clients and having the full range of investment accounts available via our platform enables them to maximise the tax efficiency of their portfolios in one place.”

Alistair Cunningham, financial planning director at Wingate Financial Planning in Caterham, said most of his clients are over 40 so they do not qualify for Lifetime Isa.

"But for those wealthier people under 40 I think they are a very good tax wrapper.

"I think the issue is they are perceived as a product for first-time buyers, but they can work for the right person who is planning for retirement too."

The Lifetime Isa was introduced by the government in April 2017, to help 18 - 40 year olds buy their first home or save for later life.

Savers can put in up to £4,000 each year, until they are 50, and the government will add a 25 per cent bonus to the savings, up to a maximum of £1,000 per year.

The Lifetime Isa limit of £4,000 counts towards the annual Isa limit, currently £20,000 for the 2018 to 2019 tax year, and can be held in cash or stocks and shares or a combination of both.

However there is a 25 per cent charge to withdraw cash or assets from a Lifetime Isa outside certain very specific rules.